New setup with a 30 cm cube aquarium

[tk_yt]

Just wanted to share my second aquarium setup.  I got my first tank a little over 3 years ago, and it was a 40 gallon breeder.  Then afterwards I discovered aquascaping, and since then I have loved the idea of building up a beautiful tank.

Jump forward 3 years, and I finally got the courage to get a second tank setup, this time I went with the ADA 30C (30 cm cube).  It’s a 7.2 gallon tank, and I bought that at Aquarium Zen.  The plants are all from Aquarium Coop though, and they look great!  It’s just on its second day so I have a few more weeks of cycling to do, and I will be spending that time thinking about what I want to stock the tank with :)

Details:

Tank: ADA 30C

Substrate: ADA Amazonia 2 (9 L bag), I filled up 3-4 inches on the bottom

Filter: HOB (Mighty Aquarium Filter, I replaced the cartridge with bio media and sponge)

Light: Lomhie Asta 20

Heater: Hygger small aquarium heater (50w)

Hardscape: ~6 lbs of Seyriu stone, 1 driftwood

Plants: Monte Carlo, Java Fern, Cryptocoryne Lutea, Anubias Nana, Rotala H’ra, Ludwigia Repens ‘red’

So far I am extremely pleased with the experience of scaping a small tank! It is so much more manageable and I just feel like I could experiment much easier.  I wanted to try having the shimmering effect with a spot light, and I tried out the light that MD Tanks used for his tank, the Lomhie Asta lights (much cheaper than a Kessil light).  I will create a different post to review the light so it would be easier for others to find.

As for stock, I am currently thinking of: pygmy cory OR otocinclus, chili rasbora, shrimp (likely Crystal shrimp because my water is quite soft at 6.4), and some type of snails.  

I wanted to share my experience because it was a really great one.  I’m looking forward to seeing the plants thriving!

[CoryWithAKatana]

Wow! Such a pretty tank.Keep up the good work

[Solstice_Lacer]

Looking very nice

[tk_yt]

A small update: it’s been almost 2 weeks since I set up the tank, and I saw a single Planaria crawling on the glass! So I quickly took it out and put in a dose of No Planaria.  Luckily there is still no live stock yet and I don’t plan on putting in snails so hopefully I’m good.

I also switched out my hang on back filter for a nano canister filter, and it has already made a huge difference in my opinion.  Super happy with the filter!

also did my first trimming of the Rotala H’Ra today, they were already way longer than the tank and was bent everywhere, so I trimmed and replanted.  The Ludwigia will be trimmed next, and it’s nice to see the red come out even though I am not using high lighting!

 

Will keep updating this post as my journey with this nano tank continues!

[tk_yt]

Week 3 update:

some time in week 2, about 10-14 days after the tank was set up, I started getting hair algae in the tank.  I cleaned up what I could, and started doing lean fertilizing.  (Currently dosing only potassium and micro minerals)

On day 18 my tank tested 0 ppm for ammonia and nitrite, so I went ahead and got 11 Bloody Mary Neocaridina shrimp to the tank.  The shrimp seems to be perfectly fine with the canister filter, and adjusted well! This morning (day 23) I saw a molted exo shell, and found a baby shrimp swimming around already!  
 

I also added a catappa leave for it to breakdown and provide more food for the shrimp, but so far they have been happy munching away on the biofilm around the tank.

I plan to keep the tank shrimp only for now until the population booms.  Then I will be adding chili rasboras to finish the tank.  Nano tanks are more enjoyable than I thought!

I used some macro lens attachment for my phone to capture some pictures of the shrimp.  It has made a big difference in the quality of the photos I can take on my phone and has made this an even more fun experience.